About

A boldly conceived epic of the intimate, Happy Hour was Ryusuke Hamaguchi's international breakthrough as a filmmaker, announcing one of contemporary cinema's most outstanding new talents. Set in the city of Kobe, the film explores the friendship between four women in their late-30s amidst the quiet tumult of their careers, relationships and personal lives.

Hamaguchi employs the unconventionally long runtime to accumulate myriad small details, creating distinctly textured portraits of each of the characters. The screenplay was developed through extensive improvisational workshops with the four lead performers — Sachie Tanaka, Hazuki Kikuchi, Maiko Mihara and Rira Kawamura — who went on to receive a joint Best Actress award at the Locarno Film Festival for their performances. The resulting film is a cinematic tour de force that captures the mirth, melancholy and mundanity of modern life over five enthralling hours.

Ages 15+ | Mature themes and sexual references